ADSM-L

Re: Sizing an AIX platform and tape libraries

2004-03-24 13:03:42
Subject: Re: Sizing an AIX platform and tape libraries
From: "Prather, Wanda" <Wanda.Prather AT JHUAPL DOT EDU>
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 13:03:10 -0500
Ditto on previous responders - A current AIX box like the p660 is the
absolute best way to go.

Rember that I/O, I/O, it's all about I/O -  don't skimp on fast disk for the
server, enough buses to your tape drives.
When in doubt, assume you will have the same performance issues as on your
mainframe - the more paths the better.

Don't sweat it too much for the initial configuration - as one responder
said, just make sure you have enough expandability to add adapters & memory
in the future, as you need them.

And WHATEVER you do, don't skimp on tape drive quality-  TSM beats them to
death.
Many of the types of drives you see people using in network environments are
cheap for a reason - they just aren't as durable under load as the types of
drives you are used to in a mainframe environment.

For what you describe, based on my personal experience I would not consider
ANYTHING but LTO2, IBM3590, or STK9840/9940 in terms of speed/reliability.
All those work great.  (But because you expect rapid storage growth, that
probably rules on the 9840, maybe the 9940 also.)

Then it's a matter of balancing your costs - you can get the LTO2 drives at
much less cost than the 359x.

Given that you already have 3494's, this might help you:  Did you know that
you can SHARE your 3494 with your AIX box?  It's not hard; we do with
Windows (rather than AIX).  And you can order a field-upgrade kit and have
IBM CONVERT some of your ESCON 3590's to Fibre 3590's that can be used with
AIX.  That's what we did a couple years ago, converted some of the 3590E
drives to TSM use, share the 3494 between TSM/Windows and OS/390.  We also
bought an Ethernet card for the 3494 (non-OS/390 systems communicate with
the robot via either the Lan or a serial cable, rather than ESCON).

You might consider that as an interim strategy for one of your 3494's.
Also, buying an additional storage frame (no drives, just slots) for the
3494  is inexpensive - about $16000, I think.

Both the 3494 (3590 drives) and the 3484 (LTO2) are both EXCELLENT choices,
just depends on what works with your budget and schedule.

My opinions, hope it helps..

Wanda Prather



-----Original Message-----
From: Nancy R. Brizuela [mailto:Brizuela AT UWYO DOT EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 7:19 PM
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Subject: Sizing an AIX platform and tape libraries


Hello All,

We will be phasing out our OS/390 mainframe in the next few years.
Currently, we have our TSM server installed on the mainframe, so we will
need to move it off and on to something else.  Based on conversations to
this list and the Redbook, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Implementation
Guide, I believe that we definitely need to move to AIX.  The above
Redbook is not very helpful as far as sizing the AIX machine, saying
that it is an "inexact" art.  Here are our current and future
requirements:

1)  Right now we are backing up about 150 GB/ night, but we need to add
Exchange and a new student information system (Banner) to this.  We are
estimating that we will soon grow to at least 500 -600 GB/night.

2)  Workload consists of 95 clients, consisting of from small 20-30gb
Unix and Windows systems, to DB (Oracle) and file servers with half to
one terabyte of storage.  This will grow to 120 or so clients soon.

3)  We are currently storing 10.7 TB total data in two libraries, one
local tape library and a second copy of everything at a remote tape
library (3494 ATLs w/3590 E drives).  Looks like this storage could
triple, given how much we will be backing up each night (15 TB in each
location).

4)  Network is Gigabit Ethernet.

5)  We would like to use one large server vs. multiple servers.

Does anyone have a similar scenario that is on AIX that works well?
Please describe, including tape libraries!  Does anyone know of any
additional guidance available on choosing an AIX platform size and
choosing an appropriate tape library?

Thanks!

Nancy Brizuela
University of Wyoming
IBM Systems Group
Ivinson Room 238
(307)766-2958